Dyce Boys Club F.C. Aberdeen |
Under 14s - Match Report |
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Deveronvale 3 - 2 Dyce BC 11th December 2005 At Banff A League With passports to the ready, we sojourned north, crossing the border into Banffshire and heading for the vale of the Deveron River. The rising sun cast a rosy glow over the sleeping countryside, there to be admired in all its winter glory, and the temperature rose to an unseasonable 11 degrees, resembling a spring day in Aberdeen (or a summer’s day in Peterhead). It seemed like a perfect Sunday morning. But then came the football. From the off Dyce were forced onto the back foot by the slick passing and intelligent movement of the Deveronvale side and it took the visitors all of four minutes to get out of their own half. While remaining under the cosh Dyce at last began to play a bit but their occasional forays into opposition territory invariably faltered due to a misplaced pass or the result of drifting into an offside position. This was a game where the first goal was clearly going to prove vital and it duly arrived after twenty minutes as the consequence of the home side’s third corner kick. The dangerous cross was only partially cleared allowing one of the Deveronvale central defenders a clear header but from all of fifteen yards. On this occasion those on the touchline were not the only spectators as no one in the Dyce side reacted to the looping header, which arched its way into the net. For the next ten minutes the Banff side were camped in the Dyce box and a replica goal was only prevented by the intervention of a friendly crossbar. Further desperate defending stopped the host’s from extending their narrow advantage until a handball in the box gave them the opportunity to do just that. They dutifully obliged. With the minutes ticking towards half time Dyce were thrown a lifeline when Dale Crowder was tripped in the box and STUART ARMSTRONG coolly stroked him the resultant spot kick providing a half time score line that slightly flattered Dyce. HALF TIME DEVERONVALE 2 DYCE 1 Dyce emerged from the dressing room reenergized and it didn’t take them long to get back on level terms. Fifteen seconds in fact. From the kick off, the ball was played to Andy Macaskill who hit a beautifully waited pass into the path of STUART ARMSTRONG. Stuart coolly and cleverly lobbed the ball over the advancing keeper and parity was restored. The next fifteen minutes were evenly contested, with both sides enjoying moments of supremacy but neither looking particularly likely to extend their goal account. And then the period of equality was shattered when one of Deveronvale forwards picked up the ball on the edge of the Dyce box, carved out space and smacked a cracking shot high into the net. To be fair to Dyce they answered the call to arms and for the remaining twenty minutes threw everything at the home side in an increasingly desperate effort to secure the elusive equaliser. Both Stuart Armstrong and Paddy Masson came close with efforts that cleared the bar before Paddy unleashed a vicious shot that rebounded into play off the turncoat crossbar that had been Dyce’ saviour in the first half. When the home keeper brought off a point blank save with his legs to thwart Harley Strachan’s powerful run and shot we began to believe that it wasn’t going to be our day. With Kieran Heads abandoning his defensive duties to rampage forward in support of his attackers the Deveronvale goalmouth began to resemble the Alamo. Sadly, unlike General Santa Anna, Dyce were repulsed and the final whistle heralded great celebrations in the Banff side’s ranks. The drive home was long and sombre and the countryside strangely didn’t look nearly as attractive. Les, Alan, Alex, Mike |